for one more day

Best selling author Mitch Albom came to speak about his new book For One More Day last week at Holy Communion. Mitch kept hearing the theme of having one more day with a loved one when people talked about his other two popular books. He didn’t speak very long, but by the end of his talk, nearly the entire packed room was moved to tears and wishing they had one more day with the loved ones that are no longer with us.

I have a kid sister. She will be twenty three-years-old in a few months and still looks up to me like she did when she was ten. Mitch made me feel a little guilty about my attitude towards Ann sometimes. I love Ann as much as any brother loves a sister, but I guess I don’t do the best job of letting her know how much I care. When she calls, I often am in the mindset of “what in world do you want this time?” She usually is just checking on me or inviting me to dinner or lunch. Yet, I write her off. I almost always put her after my friends and I can’t seem to figure out why. Ann’s a neat girl, cool as can be.

Mitch talked about how we only beg for that one more day when it is too late. It’s not too late. There are so many wonderful people in our lives that we have another day with. I feel so foolish now after all those years of getting upset with my father for wanting the family to have a sit down dinner every night. I was always putting up a fight claiming I had to be out cruising the neighborhood with the local rug rats of my hood. Mitch reminded us of the importance of the personal relationships between people. Every day is a new invitation to spend one more day with those loved ones in our lives. John Wayne once said, “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” Tomorrow is my opportunity to tell my sister I love her.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Dear God,

Thank you for this wonderful and new day.

Thank you for the way that the cool fall breeze chills my skin as you let me know that you are with me.

Thank you for the friends that I have, who without their honesty, patience, and love, I would not be the person I am today.

Thank you for my family who shines when I do well, and helps me up when I fall down.

Thank you for the youth that I work with. Their willingness to embrace the world inspires me everyday.

Thank you for the light you provide in my life, for continuing to bless me when I turn my back, and your open arms that are always ready to accept me for me.

Thank you for the talents and gifts which I have been blessed with.

And thank you for all that I have in my life.

Thank you.

The Power of Love

I would say my friend Logan is deep into Christian spirituality, but I wouldn’t call Logan a Christian in the way that one would traditionally define a Christian. Logan is a very spiritual person who is taking classes to be certified as a spiritual counselor. Most of my friends spend a good portion of their day thinking about fantasy football, the Heisman Trophy watch, or where to meet nice girls. So, for me, it was a real treat to be able to spend a three hour drive home from the lake in profound theological debate.

Logan is turned off from Christianity because of how exclusive some Christians can be and by the use of fear in trying to spread Christianity. In sermons at different churches, he continually hears a message of “do this because Jesus says so.” Sometimes I hear that same message too. And even more often, I am guilty of spreading that message as well.

So often, I find myself coming up with rules and regulations for the world according to “John Burruss.” I judge others because they bend and break my rules. Sharing my rules seems to be the only logical way to have others conform to what I believe will make this world a better place. I forget the true value of what it means to be a Christian.

I often look at some of my friends and judge them. I think they party too much, they don’t have their priorities in order, or a plethora of other standards that I use to criticize their standard of living. And when I do this, I keep myself from doing the very thing I am called as a Christian to do; to love them, and love them unconditionally. Instead I let my own pride and ego separate me from my friends. Like everyone else, I want my life to be meaningful and important and to make a positive impact in this world. This story of Zacchaeus reminds me of the power of love.

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector in the Bible. Everyone hated the tax collectors and probably most people tried to change Zacchaeus by sharing with him their personal views of the world and why tax collecting was wrong. Yet Jesus loved Zacchaeus and he sold half of his possesions and followed Him. Love has the power to change this world. I only hope I can harness that power.

Changing the Routine

Since I work for a church, my week begins on Sunday morning at the 9:00 a.m. worship service. And this week started off on the wrong foot. After pressing my snooze button one too many times, I found myself arriving at church late and sneaking into the back of the nave for a seat just a few rows from the very back. As an Episcopalian, I have gotten in that routine of sitting in almost the exact spot every week, even to the point of feeling spite when someone snags my seat.

What I found by sitting in the back of the church was how powerful and magnificent our choir could sing. Our choir sits in the loft of the church, but their voices have a difficult time reaching across the nave. I was in for a real treat this Sunday with the children singing with the adults. It may be my sensitive side, but I was honestly moved to tears during the offertory.

I suspect that nothing was too special about Sunday. The choir probably always sings this beautifully and because I have fallen into the routine of sitting up front, every Sunday I miss out. Now I am not suggesting that we all get up and shuffle around our churches this Sunday. That might give some of the cradle Episcopalians that have been sitting in the same seat since the 1928 Book of Common Prayer was written a heart attack. But I am suggesting that when the actions in our lives become routine, we begin to miss the beauty of the world we live in. We drive to work the same way every day and ignore everything around us except for the path ahead of us. We recite the Lord’s Prayer without actually acknowledging what the words are saying to us or what we are really praying.

This week I challenge you all to be more intentional about the daily routines of your life. Take the back road to school or to the office. Look at your parents, your children, your wife, or your friends, and notice how wonderful a person he or she truly is. And if you are really feeling gutsy, find a new place to sit in church. See how the word reaches you from an entirely new place.